A benchmark three-node triangular element for shear-deformable laminated composite plates
- Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States)
The development of an accurate triangular plate/shell element for analyzing isotropic and/or laminated composite structures is of importance to researchers because this type of element represents the fundamental building block for most commercial finite element codes, especially those codes that use automatic mesh generation algorithms. Elements derived using simple (first-order) shear deformation theories are capable of determining the overall behavior (transverse deflections and lower natural frequencies) of thick or laminated composite shell-type structures. Although these elements are easy to implement and only require C{sub o} continuity, they typically have a serious deficiency namely shear {open_quotes}locking{close_quotes} (overly stiff elements) that render them worthless in thin plate applications. To reduce the severity of shear {open_quotes}locking{close_quote} element developers typically use selective reduced integration, which {open_quotes}underintegrates{close_quotes} the transverse shear energy. In the current study, a three-node element is developed for studying the behavior of laminated composite plates, based upon a first-order shear deformation theory, where the displacement and rotation isoparametric shape functions are derived so that they exactly solve all of the partial differential equations of equilibrium of a symmetric laminated composite plate. The resulting element is evaluated using exact integration, has correct rank, and is free of shear {open_quotes}locking{close_quotes}. It outperforms all existing research and commercially available three-node and six-node plate elements, where static and free vibration numerical and experimental results are presented.
- OSTI ID:
- 175180
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-950686--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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